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FFA Members Earn Public Speaking
Honors
Sixty-six Atwater High School 9th grade
FFA members along with the Atwater FFA Chapter
Officer team competed in the annual FFA Sectional
Opening and Closing Ceremonies Contest on Wednesday,
October 14th at Gustine High School.
Over four hundred FFA members from Buhach Colony,
Dos Palos, Gustine, Hilmar, Le Grand, Livingston,
Los Banos, Mariposa, Merced, and Golden Valley high
schools competed in this public speaking event.
The
Atwater FFA had ten novice officer teams and one
advanced officer team. An officer team is comprised
of a president, vice-president, secretary,
treasurer, reporter, and sentinel. Official FFA
ceremonies build pride, identity, and tradition
among FFA members and chapters. All meetings are
opened and closed using ceremonies written for those
purposes. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Contest has students recite the responsibilities and
duties of their respected office. Each team was
scored and evaluated by a team of judges in areas
that included memorization, delivery, posture,
poise, uniform, and team behavior. The contest was
also an opportunity for students to meet other FFA
members from the other schools in the Merced-
Mariposa Section
The
results and student participants from Atwater High
School were: Advanced Officer Team (Gold) –
JD Brownwood, Lilly Reyes, Laura Gonzalez, Collette
Wilcox, Mekayla Coughran ,and Jackie Vasquez ;
Atwater Team “2” (Bronze) Mariah Chavez,
Courtney Bernatz, Jennifer Her, Padee Vang, Yarelin
Zavala, and Cailyn Yerrick. Atwater Team “3”
(Gold) Carolyn Schiber, Paige Whited, Betsy Nelson,
Adrian Alatorre , Miranda Knobloch, and Izaak
Hurtado; Atwater Team “4” (Gold) Raymond
Gomez, Yoon Saephanh, Joanna Rodriguez, Alexis
Lopez, Dillon Junsay, and Andrew Sabine ; Atwater
Team “5” (Bronze) Daniel Ornelas, Rafael Manzo,
Nicolas Sanchez, Victor Villafan, Joseph Rogers, and
James Nance ; Atwater Team “6” (Silver)
Carlos Hernandez, Augustine Santos, Thomas Payton,
Omar Favela, John Edwardson, and Morgan Briner;
Atwater Team “7” (Silver) Selena Wooten, Alyssa
Thao, Kanly Moua, Caresse Wilson-Cotter, Susana
Brasil, and Elena England; Atwater Team “9”
(Bronze) Vanessa Mendoza, Judy Mendoza, Elda
Banuelos, Omar Mauleon, Ricky Mena, and Brandon
Pollock; Atwater Team “10” (Gold) Serenity
Lagoy, Katie McMurray, Carrie Munsen, Angie
Santiago, Teresa Ledesma, and Jacquelyn Leon;
Atwater Team “11” (Bronze) Brenda Sanchez, Devin
Moles, Ashley Henkle, Anjali Hicks, Julia Hernandez,
and Quetzalli Haro.
Students recognized as outstanding speakers included
Andrew Sabine (Sentinel), Mekayla Coughran
(Reporter), Ashley Henkle (Reporter), Miranda
Knobloch (Reporter), Joanna Rodriguez (Secretary),
Jacquelyn Leon (Sentinel), and Laura Gonzalez
(Secretary) .
“I’ve
never experienced anything like the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies Contest” said Atwater FFA member
Jacquelyn Leon, “I was still really nervous, but it
ended up being a lot of fun and an experience that I
will never forget.”
“The
students were nervous and anxious prior to the
contest, however they really showed their courage
and enthusiasm at the event,” said FFA Advisor
Jackie Ioimo. “It was a tremendous opportunity and
experience for the students as public speaking and
communication is recognized as an important and
valuable skill in one’s education and future
career.”
FFA
makes a positive difference in the lives of students
by developing their potential for premier
leadership, personal growth and career success
through agricultural education.
Written By: Mekayla Coughran, Atwater FFA
October 2009 |
